I'm thinking of our Christmas vacation. We've gone to Key Largo and Islamorada the last few years. We are thinking of trying someplace different this year. H is considering deep Caribbean (e.g. Aruba) to be even warmer. I'm thinking of staying stateside to save some money. We love the keys, for the most part, but I do get annoyed with all the trips up and down overseas hwy. And the u-turns! It looks like Sanibel Island is very bike friendly. Like we could spend a lot of the week biking around rather than driving.
So, that said - I know weather will vary, but is it likely to be about as warm and windy as the keys? How is the fishing? How is the vibe vs Islamorada? We do not have kids and, honestly, tend to be kind of #getoffmylawn at times. Should we try Sanibel?
I just can't with Caribbean prices for Christmas week. We might make it a two week trip, with one in the Caribbean and one in Florida. It's so much cheaper one week before!
Eta: drat, can't edit the title. Yes, I know I'm missing an s
Ii live in West Coast FL, so similar to Sanibel, and it's generally 5-10 degrees cooler here than it is in the Keys. I wouldnt count on warm weather at Xmas. It could be 80, it could be 50.
Other than that I would say Sanibel sounds like what you are looking for. It's a cute town, laid back, somewhat family oriented, no idea about fishing.
The fishing around Sanibel and Captiva is supposed to be pretty good. I can ask my dad how it compares to the area around Islamorada if you want. He fishes around both areas somewhat frequently.
rubytue Two of my favorite places! I will say, it can be a real pain in the ass to get off/around Sanibel via car so totally plan on biking. It took us 1 hour to go towards the bridge back to Ft. Myers. Of course, you can just avoid that area of the island, but we were there during Spring Break and I imagine the Christmas holidays will be similar. So primarily biking, as you mentioned, will be a good plan. The vibe is somewhat the same. Fishing might be a little bit better in Islamorada, but not a significant difference. Again, the water will most likely be cooler but I think there are lot of boat friendly things to do on the Intercoastal Waterway that you guys will enjoy. Cabbage Key (great cheeseburger), Gasparilla Island, Boca Grande. Great fishing near there and Gasparilla pass. Don't forget to go to the Mucky Duck (Captiva). Since you've done Key Largo and Islamorada, I think you'd like Sanibel very much.